Hogshead



Jan. 2, 1968 E. L. BARKLEY, JR, ETAL 3,361,282 I HOGSHEAD Filed Oct. 23, 1965 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 vIF:

INVENTOR. I ERNEST L. BARKLEYJr JOHN C. PAG E dmadaiw Attorney United States Patent 3,361,282 HOGSHEAD Ernest L. Barkley, Jr., 1311 Pineblnif Road, and John C. Page, 415 Irving St., both of Winston-Salem, N.C.

Filed Oct. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 502,833 6 Claims. (Cl. 217-44) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background and objectives 0] the invention Tobacco is conventionally placed or packed in a hogshead under considerable pressure and, at certain times, it is necessary to inspect the contents within the container and subsequently to reclose such containers about their original contents. It is, therefore, necessary to provide means to expose a portion of the contents of the hogshead without permanently distorting the stave assembly so that an inspection might be made of the material held within.

Additional problems in the tobacco packaging art are encountered when conventionally constructed hogsheads are to be stored for some length of time until they are ready for use. It is obviously advantageous to have maximum use of all space available for storing these hogsheads, and therefore any flexibility within the hogshead construction to make use of all such available space is desirable.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to form a cylindrical tobacco hogshead constructed so as to be capable of being knocked down into separate flat panels for storage or shipment.

- It is another object of this invention to provide a hogshead in which the staves forming the wall portion between the two heads or ends are assembled into groups of two or more equal or generally similar parts or segments and such segments are fastened together to provide a complete side wall section of the hogshead.

*It is a further object of this invention to provide a hogshead of the class described that has axially spaced flexible bands or hoops carrying cleats that releasably retain the staves, thus allowing replacement of damaged staves and material without reconstructing an entire hogshead.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide band or hoop supported chamfered cleats that will allow at least one head portion of the hogshead to be inserted within the fully assembled side wall after the tobacco or other contents have been positioned and compressed within.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a barrel or hogshead that can be readily set up and which, when in the set-up condition, will be thoroughly strong and reliable, it being capable, when the occasion requires, of ready collapsing, and when collapsed, will occupy a comparatively small space.

Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a hogshead that may be partially disassembled when fully loaded to expose the compressed tobacco or generally similar contents therewithin for inspection and testing.

Some of the objects of the present invention have been stated and other objects will be readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a fully assembled hogshead sidewall embodying the present inventive concept showing the hinged connection or junction assemblies of the axially spaced cleat-sustaining bands and intermediate reinforcing bands.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a fully assembled hogshead embodying the present inveniton showing a head portion inserted and retained along the inner periphery of the sidewall under the series of cleats attached to the inside of one of the cleat-supporting bands.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2 and illustrating the stave-retaining recesses formed by the axially spaced bands and the fluted cleats secured thereto.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of one of the flexible segmented cleat-bearing bands retaining a series of staves and cleats showing the collapsible position of these side members when the hogshead is in a knocked-down or storage position and the semicircular side wall forming pattern when the hogshead is in the assembled position.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational fragmented view of a seg mented sidewall showing a cleat-retaining band and an intermediate stave'maintaining band in a secured position for storage.

FIG. 6 is a slightly enlarged perspective fragmentary shortened view of cooperating band-supported cleats showing the position occupied by a single barrel stave in broken or hidden lines as it is held against movement between the cleat-bearing band and the attached cleats.

Detailed description of the invention Referring now more specifically to the drawings, there is generally designated a hogshead or container 10 for holding tobacco or like products for shipment and storage comprising at least a pair of identical side walls 11 and 12, one or more substantially similar staves 13 being held in a side by side relationship to form these semi-circular sidewalls 11 and 12 of the container. A pair of flexible bands 14 and 15 encircle and engage the terminal ends 16 and 17" of staves 13 of each of sidewalls 11. Thus the semi-circular alignment of the staves Within the bands 14 and 15 of that sidewall help form the tubular or barrel member that makes up the nucleus of a new and improved tobacco hogshead embodying novel assembly and closure features heretofore undisclosed in the art.

Of primary importance in the design and construction of this invention is the desirability of producing a knockeddown or collapsible hogshead that can be effectively stored without an undue loss of space when not in use; and for purposes of illustration, a hogshead constructed of two separate sidewalls 11 and 12, each forming onehalf of the total perimeter of the barrel member will be considered and described. Obviously, segments of lesser lengths than that, such as one-third or one'fourth of the perimeter, may be used Without difliculty.

Bands 14 and 15 are of a flexible construction so as to allow the attachment thereto of a series of circumferentially positioned stave-securing cleats generally designated 18 and 19. These cleats are fastened to the inner sides 20 and 21 of each of the bands 14 and. 15 as illustrated in FIG. 6. Each of the cleats 18 and 19 has a stave receiving and securing recess 22 and 23 which functions to releasably retain the terminal ends 16 and 17 of staves 13. These recesses have sufiicient width not to require each cleat to coincide with an individual stave, thus allowing either a curved or a wider stave to fit reasonably into segmented recesses. The most frequently used construction is to provide cleats 19 along one band 15 that have a squared or fiat horizontal edge 24 (FIG. 3) which forms a supporting ridge on which a bottom head portion 26 can rest. This particularly designed cleat 19 is well suited to support a rather tightly fitted head portion 26 that is more permanent in nature and not expected to be removed and replaced frequently for inspection of the tobacco within hogshead 10.

The cleat 18 particularly designed to accommodate the top head portion 28 has a chamfered or beveled edge 30 which is sloped to slidably engage the slanted or angled edge 32 of top head portion 28. As the head portion 28 is urged downwardly within the hogshead, it slides against and eventually passes beveled edge 3 B of cleat 18 completely, and when that downwardly exerted pressure is released, the expanding or upwardly directed force generated by the compressed contents of hogshead 1% will urge the lip 34 against the head portion flange 36 of cleat 18.

Cleats 18 and w are tapered slightly along their ends or terminal edges 33 so as to join cooperatively in an end-to-end fashion and roughly define a circle along their inner longitudinal edges 40 as they are positioned by the joining of sidewalls 11 and 12 to define the circular or tubular portion of the hogshead 10.

The preferred embodiment shows the hogshead l comprised of two separate banded sidewalls or sections 11 and 12 (FIG. 4), both or either of which may be extended individually to lie perfectly flat as illustrated in FIG. by the side wall generally designated 11. These walls 11 and 12 can then be cooperatively joined together (FIGS. 1 and 2) to form the tubular or body portion of the hogshead as illustrated by the solid and hidden lines of FIG. 4. One or more staves 13 are secured at their terminal ends 16 and 17 with respect to bands 14 and within recesses 22 and 23, and it has been found advantageous to join ends 46 and 48 of bands 14 and 15 and to join ends 44 and 5d of those same bands 42 to align the bands 14 and 15 with respect to one another and to maintain a plurality of intermediate bands 52 and 54 in a spaced relation from the cleat-carrying bands 14 and 15. Stave 56 is secured to bands 14 and 15 by screws 58 and wingnuts 60 and nuts and bolts 62 or other suitable means maintain the intermediate bands '52 and 54 in the correct position with respect to stave 56 and cleat-carrying bands 14 and 15. Stave 56, of course, would not be necessary where a complete one-piece stave is used for sidewall 11.

It is to be understood that only one sidewall 11 is being specifically described but that the opposite and cooperating wall 12 is similarly constructed and is held intact by bands 31, 33, 35 and 37 which mate with bands 14, 52, 54 and 15 in a manner subsequently to be described.

Each end of each of the hoops or bands 14 and 15 has a half-hinge 64 secured thereto, and suitable bolts 65 penetrate the bands and secure them to the aligning staves 42. Each half-hinge 64 has either one or two cars 66 that cooperatively mate with the ears of adjoining bands 34 and 31 and form pin-receiving passages 68. Pins '70 extend through passages 68 and ears 66 to securely bond the terminal ends 44, 46, 48 and 50 of bands 14 and 15 to the engaging ends of bands 31 and 37 so that the circular walls of the hogshead are formed by the ends 16 and 17 of staves 13 being held in place by cleat-shaping recesses that hold the ends.

Additionally, intermediate bands 52 and 54 also utilize a coupling assembly made up of half-hinges '71 and the like in conjunction with their adjoining bands 33 and similar to that above described, and these hinges 71 are cooperatively joined or secured by the use or" a pin 7d shaped to extend through mating ears 76 similar to those above described.

The particularly constructed sernicircular barrel or sidewalls l1 and 32 are readily repairable since the individual staves 13, 42 and may be removed very quickly for they are merely held within the recesses 22 and 23 formed by cleats 18 and 19 being secured against bands 14 and 15 by screws '78 or other suitable means. Once a stave 13 is broken or damaged, it can be expeditiously pulled from its secured position and another inserted in its place. it requires only a slight flexing of the somewhat resilient stave member to urge it into the cleat-forming recesses 22 and 23 so that it might become a portion of the sidewall of the hogshead 10.

For purposes of illustration, the embodiment appearing herein contains only one band-retained row of chamfered or beveled cleats 18 thus providing only one end of hogshead it from which to disassemble for inspection and reassemble for storage. It is obvious, however, that such beveled cleats 18 could be placed on both ends of hogshead it) thus allowing opening or closing of the hogshead from either end and providing greater utility for that particularly constructed unit.

During use, it has been found necessary to require the pin 70 joining one end 46 of upper band 14 to an end ot band 31 to be removed from the coupling ears 66 to allow the band 14 to separate slightly from its cooperating and neighbor band 31 in order to force head portion 28 into the top of hogshead 10 and down along the beveled edge 30 of cleat 18. Once the lid 28 is fully inside the hogshead and below edge 36, pin 70 may be replaced and the hogshead is then in a fully packed and readyfor-handling condition. If tobacco is to be inspected from the top, it would then be necessary to remove pin 70 again so as to expand the upper end of the barrel held by bands 14 and 31 sutficiently to remove the lid 28 therefrom and examine the contents within the hogshead. The operation of opening and closing the junction of band 14 with its adjacent band 31 is relatively easy and can be quickly mastered by an inspector in one or two trial applications.

Half-hinges 64 and 71 each have a plurality of cylindrical projections 80 and 82 extending therefrom, though some of these may be omitted, if desired. An appropriate or suitable tool (not shown) may be inserted in one or both of these projections tit and 82 for pulling the two sections Ill and 12 of the hogshead together to where the pin 79 may be inserted within the aperture 68 formed by the cars 66 of half-hinges 64 and 71.

Obviously, many modifications and variations may be made in the construction and arrangement of the cleats as well as the halt-hinges as well as other phases of the present inventive concept in light of the above teachings without departing from the real spirit and purpose of this invention. Such modifications of parts and equivalents as well as the use of mechanical equivalents to those herein illustrated and described are reasonably included and modifications are contemplated.

VJhat is claimed is:

1. A collapsible hogshead with replaceable staves comrising: a pair of flexible stave cleat-securing bands axially spaced from each other, a series of segmental stave-securing cleats fastened to one face of each of said bands, each of said cleats having a stave-receiving and securing recess and a head portion flange, the cleats of at least one band additionally having an inclined chamfer adjacent said recess and flange; a plurality of staves releasably retained by said cleat recesses and securing bands; releasable locking means securing said bands to form a cylindrical hogshead; and head portions at the ends of the hogshead contiguous said cleat-flanges.

2. A collapsible hogshead with replaceable head portions and staves comprising: a pair of segmented flexible cleat-securing bands axially spaced from each other; a series of segmental stave-securing cleats fastened to one face of each of said bands, each of said cleats having a stave-receiving and securing recess, a plurality of staves releasably retained by said securing bands and said cleat recesses; releasable locking means securing said bands together about said staves to form a cylindrical hogshead; and head portions retained by said cleats over the ends of the hogshead.

3. A knock-down hogshead with replaceable slaves comprising a pair of axially spacedapart flexible stave encircling bands having external and internal faces and securable terminal ends; a plurality of stave and head portion securing cleats fastened to the internal face of each of said bands, each of said cleats having a stave-receiving recess adjacent the internal face of said bands and a head portion engaging flange, a plurality of staves releasably retained by said cleat recesses and said encircling bands; and means securing the terminal ends of said bands where by a substantially cylindrical hogshead is formed.

4. A knock-down hogshead with replaceable staves comprising: a pair of axially spaced-apart flexible staveencircling bands having external and internal faces and securable terminal ends; a plurality of stave securing cleats aflixed to the internal face of said bands, each of said cleats having a stave-receiving recess, and a head portion flange; a plurality of staves releasably retained by said cleat recesses and said encircling bands, said recesses and bands cooperating to retain the ends of the slaves; releasably locking means securing the terminal ends of said bands to form a cylindrical hogshead; the cleats of one of said bands having an inclined surface operable With said flange to receive and retain a head portion inserted therein; and at least one additional reinforcing band encircling said hogshead for retaining said staves having releasable locking means at the terminal ends thereof.

5. A collapsible hogshead with replaceable staves and head ortions comprising: at least tWo hogshead encircling bands axially spaced from each other each of said bands having at least two releasably secured segments and each of said segments having an internal and external face; a plurality of stave-securing cleats fastened to the internal face of said segments, each of said cleats having a stave'receiving and securing recess and a head portion flange; a plurality of staves releasably retained by said securing bands and said recesses; means for releasably securing said segmented bands together to form a cylindrical hogshead; a head portion covering for each end of the hogshead cooperatively retained and positioned by the head portion flanges of said cleats adjacent each head portion; and at least one flexible band intermediate said stave cleat-securing segmented bands having means releasably locking said band in encirclement of said staves.

6. A collapsible hogshead having heard portions and replaceable staves comprising: a pair of flexible cleatsecuring bands axially spaced from each other; at least one stavesecuring cleat fastened to one face of each of said bands, said cleat having a stave-receiving and securing recess; at least one stave releasably retained by said securing bands and said cleat recess; releasable locking means for securing said bands together about said staves to form a cylindrical hogshead; and head portions retained by said cleats over the end of the hogshead.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,470,459 5/1949 Bell 2l7-44 2,5l4,829 7/1950 Barkley 217-44 2,862,639 12/1958 Bell 217-44 RAPHAEL H. SCHWARTZ, Primary Examiner.

THERON E. CONDGN, Examiner. 

